1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to circuits using non-linear electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic voltage regulators.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
One conventional electronic circuit for regulating output voltages is a clipper. The clipper is a 4-terminal circuit that includes a diode and a resistor. The clipper comes in both a series configuration and a parallel configuration. In the series configuration, the diode is in series with an output load, and the resistor is in parallel with the output load. In the parallel configuration, the diode is in parallel with the output load and the resistor is in series with the output load. In both configurations, the clipper clips off input voltages located to one side of a fixed voltage threshold. The clipper also produces output voltages approximately equal to input voltage if the input voltage is located on the other side of the voltage threshold.
By clipping off voltages that are located to one side of the fixed voltage threshold, clippers function as simple voltage regulators. While many circuit designs for voltage regulators are known, new designs for voltage regulators are always desirable if the new designs offer improved operation and/or greater flexibility.